


A Bird and a Fish

by Bookkbaby



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 12:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2109372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookkbaby/pseuds/Bookkbaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bird and a fish may fall in love, but where would they live?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bird and a Fish

**Author's Note:**

> hey~ I'm also on tumblr at bookkbaby.tumblr.com!
> 
> I tend to post my little fics there much more often than I do here.

Dean leaned against the railing and stared out over the water, watching as the sun slowly sank towards the horizon. The ship rocked gently beneath his feet. He could still hear the wedding party in full swing behind him, but the wind carried most of the sound away from him. Dean didn’t mind; his last few minutes as a human, he might as well spend alone.

The ceremony had been beautiful. Jess had been radiant in her wedding gown, her smile only matched by Sam’s. They’d said their vows, exchanged necklaces, and with their kiss, Dean had finally breathed easy.

Three months was all Lilith had given them. Three months for Sam to convince the princess he’d rescued from the sea to fall in love with him and pledge him her hand. Three months, and when the sun set on the final day, if that kiss had not been exchanged, Sam would be seafoam.  
Dean’s fate would be the same regardless, but at least Sammy was safe. Whatever happened to Sam, the price for two princes to trade their tails for legs for three months was the same; Dean’s hand.

Dean knew Lilith didn’t give a damn about him. He was a means to an end, a way back into the Kingdom of the Water and all the status and riches she had been denied since her banishment. Even worse; once Dean took the throne, Lilith would be queen.

Dean had known he would never marry for love. Ever since he was old enough to conceivably take a spouse, John had been sizing up potential alliances and weighing different peace treaties and looking to their borders to figure out how to get the best advantage from Dean’s marriage. Love had never been in the books for Dean.

He hadn’t expected to find it when he’d rose to the surface with Sam, either. He’d gone with Sam strictly to look out for him, to assist the budding romance that would secure Sam the pair of legs so dearly won. Dean hadn’t expected to find himself falling in love on the surface, nor for that love to be even more hopeless than Sam’s.

After all, a bird and a fish may fall in love, but where would they live?

 

Dean heard the quiet creak of the deck behind him. He turned, wary and with a chastisement on his tongue, but it died on his lips.

Castiel stood there, his ceremonial armor gleaming in the dying light of the sun. His wings, big and black, shone iridescent in the light. His sword was belted at his side; formal occasion or not, he was still Princess Jessica’s bodyguard.

Dean’s heart ached. He managed a weak smile, which Cas returned uncertainly.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said. He turned back to the sunset and tried to ignore the lump in his throat, the longing in his heart. It wasn’t easy, just like it hadn’t been easy for the past few months. Dean managed, though; he wasn’t sure if it would be more painful for Cas to reject him outright, or to find that his feelings were reciprocated when they could never be together. Want to or not, like it or not, Dean was returning to the sea tonight, and that was the one place Cas could not follow.

This was it, their last few minutes; merpeople had no souls and returned to the sea when they died. There would be no reuniting in Heaven.

Life, Dean thought dully, was very unfair sometimes.

"You weren’t at the party," Cas said, stepping up next to Dean. He waited as if hoping for an explanation. Dean didn’t say a word, just watched the sun inexorably sink. "Sam told me you’d already said your goodbyes, that you’re leaving tonight."

Dean closed his eyes and waited. He had told Sam goodbye, even though Sam had known what was going to happen and had spent any time he could spare from wooing Jess into research on how to break their contract with Lilith. He had found nothing; no surprise, since humans didn’t even know merpeople existed, let alone sea-witches.

"Were you not going to bid me farewell also?"

Dean couldn’t. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell Cas ‘goodbye’ in person, though he’d left a note in the angel’s room for him to find when he got back. He didn’t want Cas sent out to search for a body he’d never find, after all.

"No," Dean said at last. He chanced a glance at Cas, only to see pain cross the angel’s face. Dean immediately felt like an asshole and a coward. A  _note_ , really? That was all? “I should have.”

Cas nodded and looked towards the sunset. Dean’s eyes traced his profile.

"Do you have to return to your home?" Cas asked lowly, like he knew he wouldn’t like the answer. "You are a guest here, and we can-"

"Cas, I don’t have a choice," Dean said. Cas looked at him sharply, brow furrowed.

"If you’re in danger-"

Dean shook his head.

"I’m not, I swear, I just…" Dean shut his mouth. As far as Cas (and the rest of the kingdom knew), he and Sam were just two shipwrecked princes from a distant country. He  _couldn’t_  tell Cas what he and Sam truly were, or about the spell, or the cost that had now come due.

There was so little Dean could tell Cas. So many secrets, so many lies.

Dean felt a hand on his shoulder. Cas turned him gently, his worried but earnest gaze meeting Dean’s own. Dean’s breath caught.

"If you  _were_ ,” Cas said seriously. “I would protect you.”  
Dean’s not a helpless damsel. He’s a warrior in his own right, known for his battle prowess, but somehow Cas’s offer of protection wasn’t humiliating. It’s not a sign that Cas thought Dean was weak; it was an offer to watch his back, to fight at his side, to protect him from the threats Dean couldn’t protect himself from. No warrior, however skilled, was without their weaknesses and blind spots.

Dean swallowed around the lump in his throat.

"Thanks, Cas," he said. Cas didn’t pull away. They were close, so very close; their breathing mingled in the scant air between them, the heat from Cas’s body, from his hand warming Dean from the inside out.

Dean knew he shouldn’t be torturing himself with this. To be so close, but only now, when things were all but over, would only hurt him later. He was about to retreat when Cas breathed out heavily, as if he’d made a decision, and closed the last of the distance between them.

Cas’s lips were lightly chapped, and his mouth unskilled, untrained, but Dean didn’t care. Cas poured _himself_  into the kiss, open and naked and wanting, and Dean’s restraint broke. He cupped Castiel’s face and deepened the kiss greedily, drinking in the pleased sounds Cas made in the back of his throat.

It was better than Dean could ever have imagined. It was better than anything, the best, and for this moment, it was his.

 _Cas_  was his, Cas loved him too, and the realization made Dean’s knees go weak.

In fact, his legs were jelly.

Dean realized too late what was happening. He collapsed. Cas let him go, perhaps thinking that Dean was trying to pull away and only realizing too late that Dean was falling.

Dean groaned in pain as the magic that had divided his tail now reversed itself. The muscles turned to rubber and re-formed in new configurations, his bones boiled and re-shaped themselves. His scales burst through his skin, shredding the delicate tissue. He writhed, only vaguely aware of Cas’s concerned face hovering above him.

Then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Dean lay on his back, chest heaving. His pants had been ripped apart by the reformation of his tail, but the shirt he’d been wearing all night was still intact. Cas was kneeling next to him, expression frantic, eyes wide.

He hadn’t noticed yet. He was too busy staring at Dean’s face to realize that Dean was no longer human.

"Dean," he breathed with relief as Dean’s eyes focused on him. Cas smiled, tremulous and unsure but so full of _happiness_  as he cupped Dean’s face, and Dean couldn’t take it.

He shoved Cas away, a sharp stab of pain going through his chest at the surprise and sudden hurt on Cas’s face. Dean scooted backward as best he could, looking down as he silently lifted his tail, sure that Cas could see the forest green scales.

Cas’s breathing caught audibly. Dean bit his lower lip, emotion threatening to choke him.

"See, Cas?" Dean said, voice low and thick. "I’m a fish and you’re a bird, so even if-"

Dean couldn’t finish.

_Even though we’ve fallen in love, where would we live?_

"Dean," Cas said urgently, but Dean’s time was up. He turned and groped blindly for the railing, hoisting himself up and over once he’d found it.

Then he was falling, falling-

He heard Cas shout his name one more time, frantic, and then he hit the water. The world went blissfully silent for a moment as his body adjusted, and then he began to swim. He tore off his clothes and let them drift in the current, no longer necessary.

Lilith was already waiting for him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The ceremony was large and elaborate, with all the nobility in attendance. It had taken a month to plan, despite Lilith’s constant urging for it to go faster, to be grander, for the servants (who Lilith treated more likes props or pawns than people) to work quicker.

Dean hated it already, hated  _her_  already, and it was only thoughts of Sam, happy and safe on the surface, that kept him sane. He would do his best to protect the people down here, but at least Sam was safe.

It hurt too much to think of Cas, so Dean didn’t. Some mornings, he woke up with the phantom taste of Cas on his tongue and the lingering sensation of chapped lips pressed sweetly to his. He tried to put those dreams (and the impossible ones, the ones where he stayed human, the ones where he and Cas could be together and stay together) far out of his mind.

Lilith smiled sweetly up at him while the priest droned on and on about honor and fidelity and all that bullshit. Objectively, Dean knew she was very beautiful. It left him cold, and all the beauty in the world couldn’t make up for her cruelty.

"Do you, Lilith, take Prince Dean to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest asked.

"I do," Lilith said, voice honey-sweet, eyes power-hungry. Dean repressed the urge to shudder.

"And do you, Prince Dean-"

"Stop!"

That voice.

Dean knew that voice.

He turned slowly, stunned.

"Cas," he said, voice hoarse. Cas was in the middle of the church, only he was not the angel Dean remembered. He still wore his armor and his sword, but his wings were gone, and his legs had been replaced with a gorgeous tail covered in black iridescent scales. Around his neck, he wore a necklace with a pendant of glowing white.

For a moment, Dean was certain that this was a dream. The world melted away to just the two of them, to Cas’s soft smile. The momentary happiness was shattered by Lilith’s angry shout;

"Guards!"

Dean could see the guards spring into action. He had no idea how Cas had gotten in in the first place, but that hardly mattered. He lifted his hand.

"Don’t," he growled. The guards stopped, weapons drawn. The guests in attendance seemed to be holding their collective breath.

"You defy me?" Lilith asked, narrowing her eyes at Dean. The water around them seemed suddenly charged, a subtle reminder of the power Lilith wielded. Of what Dean stood to lose ( _Sammy_ ) if he went back on their contract.

But he couldn’t lose Cas either.

"Let him go," Dean said. Fuck, why was Cas  _here_? It shouldn’t have been possible, he was an  _angel_.

He should have been  _safe_ , up on the surface with Sam, powerful and untouchable.

Lilith studied him for a moment, eyes still narrowed. She looked back at Cas, annoyance crossing her expression.

"You’re in love with him," she said. Dean felt suddenly flayed, like she’d stripped him naked in front of all onlookers. He couldn’t deny it, though, not when Cas’s eyes went wide and hopeful. "Very well. Perhaps this shall teach you."

She lifted her hand. The subtle sense of power surrounding her sharpened. Dean realized, with a sickening lurch, what she was about to do.

He lunged forward, tackling her so her magic went awry. As though that had been some sort of signal, the room erupted into chaos. Mermen and woman swam for the exits, some screaming as the bolt of magic Lilith had unleashed hit the ceiling and brought part of it crumbling down on their heads.

Lilith snarled, furious.

"I would have had you as my husband," she said, magic once more building up. "But if I must take the throne by force,  _then I shall_.”

There was no way to dodge. If Dean let her go, she’d only turn her magic back on Cas. Dean braced himself, wishing he’d been allowed a weapon, even a flimsy ceremonial dagger.

"Dean!"

Dean looked up to find Cas right behind Lilith, sword already in hand. Dean let her go immediately, shoving off of her seconds before Cas thrust his sword through her chest.

The magic in the water died. Lilith looked down at the metal protruding from her ribcage. She touched it and mouthed a quiet ‘oh’, then went limp.

Lilith was dead.

Dean couldn’t give less of a crap.

Cas slowly pulled his sword from Lilith’s body, letting it sink slowly to the floor. Dean was on him in an instant, pulling Cas into his arms and clutching at him, checking him for injuries.

"How did you find me?" Dean asked, in shock now that the danger was over. "How are you  _here_?”

He ran his hands over the slots at the back of Cas’s armor, now empty where before they had housed his wings. Cas held onto him just as desperately, letting his bloody sword fall.

"Sam," Cas said by way of explanation. Dean huffed out a small, dry laugh. Of course.

_Thank you, Sammy._

Dean pulled back just enough to take in Cas’s new appearance. His eyes lingered on Cas’s shoulders, where his wings should be, and on his tail. Dean swallowed, and his voice was thick when he spoke next.

"Your wings?"

Cas smiled tentatively and touched the glowing pendant around his neck.

"It’s not permanent," Cas said softly. Dean felt his heart sink, but then Cas continued. "My wings, my Grace… I tore them out. I Fell. But I’ve sealed them in here."

"Why?" Dean asked. His heart was beating fast, a rapid tempo against his ribs as his mind raced. He knew the answer.

It was the same reason Sam had given up his tail to follow Jess, the same reason Dean had followed Sam, the same reason Dean had so reluctantly returned to the water that was his home when their three months were up.

Cas smiled, expression warm and tender.

"Because I love you."

The words lit something up inside Dean. He felt warm, with happiness bubbling up from deep inside him. He smiled, a real smile this time, and placed his hand over Castiel’s where he clutched the pendant that held his Grace.

"What does this mean for us?" he asked. He wanted to kiss Cas again, so badly the urge was almost irresistible, but he held himself in check.

He needed to know, first, that this wasn’t just a moment’s happiness. Dean needed to know that he could keep this, that Cas wanted to remain at his side as badly as he wanted to stay by Cas’s.

"It means that I will be as I now am for as long as you will have me," Cas said. He swallowed, as though suddenly nervous. "We can be together, if… if that is what you want."

Maybe a bird and a fish couldn’t be together, their worlds too different, but two fish?

By way of answer, Dean leaned in and kissed Cas slowly, sweetly, savoring the taste and feel of Cas’s body against his own.

Cas responded enthusiastically in kind.

 


End file.
